Gagne’s streak broken- why it will never be matched

Eric Gagne’s 84 consecutive game save streak could be considered one of the best in baseball of all time. With the dramatic conclusion of this amazing streak, can Gagne puts his name on the top of the list of the greatest closers of all time? Not yet.Through the years we have always awarded praise to our big home run hitters, our ace starters, and our conniving, sly base stealers. Aaron, Ruth, Bonds, the sluggers, Cy Young, Randy, Clemens, the aces, Henderson, and Ichiro the thiefs. Neglecting to recognize the efforts put forth by one of the most important yet most overlooked position in the majors, the relief pitcher.

A remarkable streak has just been shattered, one that will be remembered and embraced in years to come. Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Eric Gagne boasted an 84 consecutive game save streak coming into Independence Day 04. Only to see his marvelous fortune turn sour one day after July 4th. Fireworks turned to ash as Gagne blew his first save in over a year. A streak marked only by passion, and a fiery desire to shut his opponents down.

Those willing to give body and soul for the sport they play are the only ones able to accomplish streaks of this magnitude. Joe Dimmagio and his 56 game hit streak, Hank Aaron and 755 homers, Nolan Ryan and his 5,000 strikeouts, all streaks of true love and pride for the game of baseball.

Why is this one better? How can a record posted by a closer top the streaks of players who receive more credit like the sluggers and aces? Consistency. Other strides of achievement compared to Eric Gagne’s record falter in one way, the consistency to be at the top of your game every time you take the field. Check how many times Joe went 1-4, 1-5 or how many times Aaron didn’t hit a homer in a game.

The pressure is always on as a closer, you can’t afford to make a mistake. You are brought in during the most intense moments of a game and expected to perform and shut your opponent down, no questions asked. One mistake could be the difference between a win and a loss for your club. To be called upon during pressure tense situations like that and accomplish your goal 84 times in a row without messing up is truly amazing.

How does Gagne do it? His “stuff”, his juice, his power is greater than everybody else’s. Gagne drops a devastating breaking ball that moves across the whole strike zone, then he can handcuff you with is changeup, and he can blow you away with his high heat.

How Gagne is able to mix his pitches so well and change speeds to fool batters is why he is so successful. When a pitcher has so many pitches he has mastered and can drop on a hitter at any given time, it is extremely hard to make contact at the plate. Gagne can freeze you, buckle your knees, and blow you away all in one at bat. He intimidates his opponents because they know they can’t dig in too deep when Gagne is pitching.

Where does Eric rank amongst the best ever? He certainly has the stuff, the record, but the pedigree is somewhat amiss. Gagne hasn’t proven himself yet in post season play to make an assumption as greatest closer ever. He is still a ways off to reach the marks set by Goose Gossage, Hoyt Wilheim, Rollie Fingers, and Mariano Rivera. Those Hall of Fame closers have proven themselves time and again throughout their careers. Gagne is still young and has time to reach post season success, then we can consider him one of the greatest ever. His streak definitely strengthens his argument though.

The new question, will this streak stand, is a burning question in determining how great the record is. Can and will any pitcher of our time topple the record? I believe no. There aren’t enough good closers that have the stuff needed to maintain a hefty streak like this one. Mo Rivera is the only logical choice, though he is aging.

Not enough closers learn to develop a wide variety of pitches to get hitters out with. You can stand there and blaze 98 mph fastballs by hitters, you probably won’t save 84 games consecutively. Hitters are smart. They will catch on. Gagne was able to accomplish this feat by utilizing a wide variety of pitches to keep batters guessing and scratching their foreheads.

Here’s a tricky question: If a pitcher from our time couldn’t match Gagne’s streak, maybe a closer from the past could. Back in the era of Fingers and Gossage, closers generally pitched more than one inning, possibly going out in the 7th or 8th. Closers of our time will almost always only pitch the 9th. Since past pitchers were used to eating up more innings more often, wouldn’t some have been able to accomplish this? I don’t know I didn’t live then. What I can say is that none of them set this record, so I guess that means they couldn’t!

When we check the baseball record books 50 years from now, we will most likely see that Barry Bonds has reset the HR record, Sammy Sosa is apart of the 600 club, Jeter got 3, 000 hits, Pete Rose is still not in the Hall of Fame, and hopefully that Eric Gagne’s mystifying record unmatched and unchallenged by any other is even printed alongside the baseball elite.